The subject matter disclosed herein relates to diagnostic testing and proving of gas meters, with particular discussion about an apparatus and a method for proving gas meters that embody features to administer the test or “proof,” to process and to store data, and to convey results of the proof to a web-based user interface.
Techniques to test or prove gas meters can ensure the accuracy and performance of a meter-under-test. These techniques typically pass a test gas through the meter-under-test and through a second meter, or “master meter,” that is known to meet some accepted performance standard. To arrive at the meter accuracy, or meter proof, the techniques look to the relationship between the volume of air that passes through the meter-under-test and the volume registered by the master meter.
In conventional configuration, the test systems to administer this proof have a bi-furcated structure. This structure includes a first part that embodies a cart-like component with the master meter(s), a fluid source (e.g., a blower), and a control interface. Notably, the structure also requires a second part, typically a computer that couples with the control interface via an appropriate connector (e.g., USB, RS-232, etc.). This computer executes software that is necessary to administer the proof (i.e., to regulate operation of the blowers), as well as to perform the data analysis to arrive at the meter proof.